The present disclosure is related to system for dispensing a selected volume of liquid. In particular, the present disclosure is related to a system for dispensing a selected volume of liquid for use in brewing a beverage, such as, for example, coffee.
Current beverage making apparatuses employ a variety of techniques to control the volume of liquid dispensed during a beverage making process. It is desirable to have a preselected volume of beverage dispensed to prevent “short potting,” a condition where less than the intended volume of beverage is dispensed. As an example, but not by way of limitation, during the production of coffee, a short pot would mean that an insufficient volume of water would be combined with coffee grounds, resulting in a coffee beverage having a resulting flavor, extraction or other characteristics, that are different than intended, and thus not having the desired taste or meeting other criteria.
Briefly, and in accordance with the foregoing, disclosed is a system and method of dispensing a selected volume of liquid. The system includes an apparatus that has a reservoir having an inlet tube and outlet tube coupled thereto, and a controller for controlling at least a portion of the apparatus. Two level sensors are positioned along the reservoir and are in communication with and controlled by the controller. The method includes steps for measuring a time a liquid level in the reservoir falls from an upper level to a lower level to calculate a flow rate. The calculation flow rate may then be used to determine and compare a dispensed volume versus the selected volume. Dispensing may then continue until the selected volume has been dispensed. While the method and apparatus is shown and describes for use with beverage dispensing, this is provided by way of illustration and not limitation.
Additional features and embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of drawings.
The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the disclosure that is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.